But how do they cope?

According to supermoms everywhere, fine-tuning their organizational skills is key to balancing their career and family with as little stress as possible.

Here are a few key things that help them balance their family and career:

1. MASTERING THE ART OF TIME MANAGEMENT

Supermoms are always super busy, so they can’t rely solely on their memory to keep track of all the things they’re expected to do, or all the places they are expected to be at the given time.

To avoid any schedules from clashing, supermoms should set aside a few hours a week to plan their weekly or monthly schedule. Once they have their schedule, they can think twice about participating in any extracurricular activities that may clash with their jobs.

Supermoms can use a calendar, electronic day planner, or maybe even a palm device to help keep track of important meetings at work, upcoming school functions and any personal outings they may have scheduled with friends and family. Their schedules should be placed in the family room where it is obvious or on the refrigerator so that their children would always know their whereabouts and can add their own planned events.

2. DEVELOPING A SUPPORT SYSTEM

Once supermoms have gotten their schedule all planned and, without warning, their son comes home with a note explaining that the spelling bee competition has been rescheduled, to the very day that their boss have asked them to work late on a project.

What are they going to do?

They can’t be in two places at once, but they do have options. Option A: They can approach their human resources department (or their immediate supervisor) about getting some flexibility in their work schedule so that they can deal with any unforeseen circumstances (such as a sick child or a rescheduled school event).

They can also strengthen their request for a scaled-back workday by reminding their employer that modern technology, such as laptops, pagers, video-conferencing and others can keep them “in” the office even when they’re out, and thus, they can still handle their business at work.

Option B: Delegate their extracurricular parenting responsibilities to a network of trusted individuals by asking a relative or a reliable friend to help them when they’re in such a situation.

When developing their support system, supermoms look to people who they know will honor the rules and regulations that they have set in place for their children. Supermoms would also make sure they talk to their children about whether they are comfortable with the adults they’re including in their network.

3. HAVING FUN TOGETHER

Supermoms say that having fun with your kids isn’t hard to do, but what to do might be a problem. Here are some ideas from supermoms that have come in handy:

I. Go out for a weekend outing, or go on a major excursion overseas.

II. If supermoms have children who love doing arts and crafts, they would suggest their children borrow art and craft books from the library, research various art projects on the Internet, and then present their ideas to the family.

III. Host family nights at the bowling alley or skating rink.

4. BE REALISTIC

A best piece of advice from many supermoms is to be realistic about tackling the challenges of the workplace and the home front and to understand that you can’t be everywhere all the time.

DONE BY GRACELYN TAN =)

Accompanying clients, Volunteering work for schools, Housekeeping, and Keeping children company.

What are the common struggles as a supermom?

Time management, Health conditions: Tired from stress and the bad comments from her children.

Do you have any recent experiences?

1)There was a time when my daughter was ill but I had not much time to look after her.

2)There was one time that I want to go to the parents day but I cannot make up the time.      

What concerns do you have as a supermom?

 I wish to have more time to spend with my children and for myself.

Why did you choose to be a supermom?

I want to let my children to go in a better school.

What motivates you from being a supermom – balancing both work and family? What keeps you going?

Children and family. Children and family make me have more energy to works.   

What concerns do you have as a supermom?

I want to accompany my children but I still have works to do so I feel sorry to them.

Interviewee: My Mother

Reported by: Marcella Gotama

Social activities, such as social dinner, volunteering work for primary schools, housekeeping, keeping children company.

What are the common struggles as a supermom?

Time management, Health conditions; tired from stress.    

Do you have any recent experiences?

There was a time when my daughter was ill but I had not much time to look after her.

Why did you choose to be a supermom?

I think that I needed a job, as to be able to support myself independently.

What motivates you from being a supermom – balancing both work and family? What keeps you going?

Children and family. These are two important factors of my life, I rush home everyday desperate to see my daughter. These two important factors keeps me moving on continuously.

What concerns do you have as a supermom?

I think of accompanying my family, sometimes, the work is too much making me unable to do so.

Interviewee: My Mother

Reported by: Yu Rei

Supermom has endless amounts of it. For everyone, including families, friends and loved ones. I will continue to support her physically and emotionally, because I love my mother.

2 Generosity

Emotionally and financially, if she has it she will give it to you. Even at significant cost to herself. This also applies to her time. No matter how busy she is, she will make time for you. This generosity is both a wonderful and a terrible thing.

3 Patience

She is in a caring profession, but both in a professional and private capacity, she always has more patience than anyone could reasonably ask of her.

4 Professionalism

Supermums’ job requires her to deal with people who behave badly, and in a professional way. No matter how much she wants to do otherwise, she deals with them reasonably, calmly, with patience and above all with professionalism.

5 Strength

No matter what is thrown at her, she keeps going. She does it with an abundance of love, generosity, patience, professionalism and strength.

Reported by: Yu Rei

I am Tan Yu Rei, the group leader of this blog. I am in charge of all procedures of this website. I like to listen to music and reading Chinese books. I joined band as my CCA, and I play the instrument called clarinet bassoon. It makes a low bass sound when played, I feel content playing it. My favourite subjects are Maths and Chinese, but I enjoy myself in other classes too.

I am Marcella Gotama, the group’s interviewer. I interview my mother, the Supermum. I enjoy watching television programs and chinese books are one of my favourites. I play the cello in the Chamber Ensemble group, and I feel very happy playing the cello. My favourite subjects are Maths and Chinese as I do well in both subjects. (:

I’m Sabrina Ng, the web editor. I will read books, play computer games and practice dancing whenever I am free at home. My CCA is Rhythmic Gymnastics, and I represent the school with a few friends for a national competitions. We are going to participate one this July. The equipment that I will be using is the rope. I have a strong passion for my CCA and thus I’m willing to put in my effort in it to make the school proud. My favourite subjects are Maths and Science. (:

Hi, I’m Joan Khng, the main editor of this blog. I edit my group members’ posts before they are published. I play in the Chamber Ensemble group and play the violin. There are many concerts coming up in Term 3 and I shall be very busy by then. During my free time at home, I would do sudoku puzzles, go to the gym and play with my rabbit. (:

Hi friends, I’m Gracelyn Tan, the assistant editer of this blog. I help to look through the edited posts again to ensure there are no mistakes and also help by contributing. I am in the Symphonic Band and play the Alto Saxophone!! =) My 1^st Recital would be held soon! Other than the Alto Saxophone, I can also play the Electone and Piano. During my free time, I would listen to music and write my own stories on the internet. I also read the stories which are posted by many other writers around the world, whom of which my favourite is xXSkyliteXx (the author’s nickname). I also read books such as “God Allows U-Turns for Teens” by Allsion Bottke. My favourite subject is Mathematics as I like challenging problems. Hope to help in the sucess of THIS blog!! =D God bless you all…